3 ms·

This was by design, not magic.

by 001sky 12y ago

vuldin 12y ago
:D I know, the title is just a little misleading. And the article doesn't seem to make any mention of the automated parachute system.
jessaustin 12y ago
Did the copilot's chute also deploy?
- Implicated 12y ago
  If I remember correctly he was still strapped into his seat when found.
  - neurotech1 12y ago
    According to reports, the co-pilot was still in the cockpit section (seated and strapped in) on impact with the ground.
- teleclimber 12y ago
  Apparently yes. He was found in the wreckage, strapped in his seat, with the chute partially deployed. It probably deployed automatically during the fall and shot out between the pilot and the seat.
  - jessaustin 12y ago
    Perhaps NTSB will have some thoughts about how to coordinate seat separation and chute deployment.
    - teleclimber 12y ago
      If you don't have an ejection seat, getting kicked out of your seat inside a cockpit doesn't sound terribly helpful. Inflight breakup situations where the pilot breaks free in their seat are so rare that this would probably would cause more accidents than it would save lives. Ejection seats do kick you out of the seat automatically sometime after ejection so that the automatic parachute deployment can work.
      - jessaustin 12y ago
        Inflight breakup situations where the pilot breaks free in their seat are so rare... Do intuitions developed about airframe integrity in an aviation context necessarily apply to spaceflight? Normally I wouldn't think automatic chute deployment would have much value without a full ejection seat, although in this case it saved a life. Did the designers of this craft actually have a meeting in which they decided that the likelihood of this exact sort of incident is so much higher than an intact-vehicle incident that an automatic chute is warranted while an ejection seat is not? For some reason I suspect that a couple of years from now we'll be reading a tell-all about the culture of risk-taking at "The Spaceship Company". (Whether such a book is warranted or not.)

This was by design, not magic.

by 001sky 12y ago

This was by design, not magic.

:D I know, the title is just a little misleading. And the article doesn't seem to make any mention of the automated parachute system.

jessaustin 12y ago

Did the copilot's chute also deploy?

Implicated 12y ago
If I remember correctly he was still strapped into his seat when found.
- neurotech1 12y ago
  According to reports, the co-pilot was still in the cockpit section (seated and strapped in) on impact with the ground.
teleclimber 12y ago
Apparently yes. He was found in the wreckage, strapped in his seat, with the chute partially deployed. It probably deployed automatically during the fall and shot out between the pilot and the seat.
- jessaustin 12y ago
  Perhaps NTSB will have some thoughts about how to coordinate seat separation and chute deployment.
  - teleclimber 12y ago
    If you don't have an ejection seat, getting kicked out of your seat inside a cockpit doesn't sound terribly helpful. Inflight breakup situations where the pilot breaks free in their seat are so rare that this would probably would cause more accidents than it would save lives. Ejection seats do kick you out of the seat automatically sometime after ejection so that the automatic parachute deployment can work.
    - jessaustin 12y ago
      Inflight breakup situations where the pilot breaks free in their seat are so rare... Do intuitions developed about airframe integrity in an aviation context necessarily apply to spaceflight? Normally I wouldn't think automatic chute deployment would have much value without a full ejection seat, although in this case it saved a life. Did the designers of this craft actually have a meeting in which they decided that the likelihood of this exact sort of incident is so much higher than an intact-vehicle incident that an automatic chute is warranted while an ejection seat is not? For some reason I suspect that a couple of years from now we'll be reading a tell-all about the culture of risk-taking at "The Spaceship Company". (Whether such a book is warranted or not.)